The present invention relates to coating compositions and articles coated therewith. The coating composition is excellent in scratch resistance, flexibility, antistatic properties and dyeability.
Articles made with plastic materials are popular, since they are easily formed and light, but some of the substantial defects of the materials are their poor scratch resistance and low hardness. Although plastics are finding wide uses in areas where transparent qualities are necessary, they are not without problems. Plastic lenses, for example, have become increasingly popular. However, they are easily to scratch when compared with conventional glass lenses. Scratch resistant coatings have often been suggested. Various silicone resin compositions have been suggested. Among these silicone resins are hydrolysates of silane compounds, such as tetraalkoxysilanes, and trialkoxyalkylsilanes, regardless whether reactive groups are present in the alkyl groups or not.
Other improved coatings contain fine particles of silica and silicon compounds. These coatings exhibit improved scratch resistance.
It is highly desirable that plastics acquire certain properties which cannot be obtained with conventional glass products. These properties include flexibility and dyeability, for example, as well as scratch resistance. Accordingly, plastic materials exhibiting enhanced flexibility, dyeability and scratch resistance can replace glass in many cases. many coating films, up to now, have lacked in flexibility and have heretofore cracked when they have been heated or distorted.
Heretofore, it has been practically impossible to tint or dye coating films that have scratch resistance.
It is an object of the present invention to solve these problems, and to create coating compositions that provide transparent, hard films with high flexibility and tintability.